Face-Lifts on Downtown Skyline

Maybe turning 40 was a sign. The look that once was so stylish now feels a little dated. The complexion is getting a little rough.

Is a little cosmetic surgery in order?

The owners of the 35-story AT&T Center on the southern edge of downtown Los Angeles think so. So workers are beginning to remake the landmark tower, replacing the 1960s-era square metal cladding with a cutting-edge translucent metal skin that when completed will change the look of downtown's skyline.

The skyscraper -- perhaps better known by its old name, the Transamerica Tower -- would be come the latest L.A. building to be "re-skinned."

Giving face-lifts to buildings has become popular across Los Angeles but particularly downtown, where property owners attempt to cash in on the central city's development boom by giving their buildings a fresh look.

When complete, the AT&T building will look more like a glimmering rectangle, its distinctive penthouse restaurant somewhat obscured by the cladding.

"It was tired and outdated and a little run-down. It just didn't have a positive image in the marketplace," said Steve Briggs, a principal partner at LBA Realty.

"So many things are happening in the South Park [area of downtown]. We knew the building had great architectural bones, but it needed to be modernized and updated."

The project consists of placing new metal panels (in a neutral tone) on top of the brown terra-cotta tiles that have been a trademark. The building was designed by William K. Pereira and Associates -- the firm behind many midcentury L.A. landmarks -- and completed in 1965.

It turns out that in architecture, as in much else, sometimes the way to look at things anew is to put on a brand-new face.

Re-fronting a building is an inexpensive way to re-create a structure with a new look. And it's a practice that dates to the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

In modern times, the process can involve stripping out an old facade or placing something new on top of the existing design, using materials such as tile, metal, even Styrofoam. It usually involves fewer zoning hurdles than a new building.

In the case of AT&T Center, the refacing will both brighten the look and provide new insulation and waterproofing.

In Hollywood, the 6565 Sunset Building, originally constructed in 1965, was re-clad in titanium-blue reflective glass.

The Westwood Center was reworked in the late 1990s, the 1965 building's concrete skin and aggregate panels replaced by a glass curtain wall.